I gathered the courage to ask my driver Leo Merkx if he can possibly drop my off at a certain convent which was near the pick up point for his two customers. He agreed though he had a vague idea where it is. At the rotunda, he got off his vehicle and left me in it. Imagine leaving your vehicle with a total stranger! Anyway, it was quick and he found the two guests near the Jollibee. After one wrong turn, we finally found the convent I wanted to go to. However, I was surprised to find out that there was Holy Mass going on and the vehicle is unable to go through.
I told Leo that I will just get off and walk the rest of the way, which was not really very far anyway, since I think I still remember where it is. I thanked him profusely for going out of his way to send me there. So don’t forget, if you plan to visit Talisay, there is a place called San Roque Beach Resort owned by Leo Merkx, I’m sure you’ll have a great time there. To my surprise, it was mentioned in Lonely Planet so I guess it is a good place.
The convent I had in mind is the Adoration Convent of Divine Mercy operated by the SVD. I have visited this chapel numerous times and I always found it a very solemn place to be in. Imagine my surprise to see a large crowd of people at the chapel waiting for Holy Mass. There were so many people they would not fit inside the tiny chapel and had to be seated outside the chapel. I was also surprised to see cars inside the compound, I don’t remember cars being allowed inside. So much for solemnity.
The Adoration Convent of Divine Mercy houses Catholic nuns who are dressed in pink and take turns adoring the Blessed Sacrament and praying for mercy for all of mankind. For this reason, they are also known as the Pink Sisters. Once the sister enters the convent, they should have no contact with the outside world. In fact, the chapel itself is divided into two with the front of the chapel occupied by the sisters and the rest by the congregation. They are separated by bars not unlike found in prisons.
The Holy Mass was celebrated by a priest from Venezuela, it seems there was a conference here not too long ago and he stuck around after that. The church itself has a modern design which is highlighted by a cross with bells. I was fortunate enough to witness the bells in action. It seems that they are activated on certain times. It was my first time to hear them ring after all these years of visiting the place.
My visit to the chapel was not as solemn as I would have liked it to be but I still managed to get photos of the place and attend Holy Mass at the same time. I really like this place, though I would probably visit this place on a weekday instead.
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